Travel: Celebrate the tastes of Mexico

Charlene Peters

Tuesday

Apr 27, 2010 at 12:01 AMApr 27, 2010 at 5:43 AM

Sometime over the past few years, tourism dwindled, if not disappeared from Mexico. But, finally, the destination that once was the perfect weather vacation spot is picking up the pace in tourism. The trendy place to visit is the Riviera Maya. A short ride to the walled city of Tulum offers the chance to explore Mayan ruins, including the great pyramid.

Sometime over the past few years, tourism dwindled, if not disappeared from Mexico. The start of swine flu, not to mention the drug lord wars, had a bit to do with the change in vacation destinations. But, finally, the destination that once was the perfect weather vacation spot is picking up the pace in tourism.

The trendy place to visit is the Riviera Maya. On the northeast coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, a stretch of beach invites long walks and snorkeling, and kamikaze pelican sightings are a form of constant entertainment. A short ride to the walled city of Tulum offers the chance to explore Mayan ruins, including the great pyramid.

In terms of cultural curiosity, Mayan culture rules over all else, but in the fisherman’s village of Puerto Morelos, the food makes the trip a total dream. Aside from the freshly picked tropical mango and papaya fruit, my mealtime was spent devouring fish — for lunch, dinner, and even in soup. A slight detour on the menu led me to taste the indigenous poblano pepper soup, as well as a zucchini flower and lobster frite soup, which proved tasty enough for me to pursue the recipes.

Although the following recipes don’t call for these ingredients, I enjoyed the poblano pepper soup with a small dollop of salmon caviar on top. For the lobster soup, fresh zucchini flowers were fried and added for exquisite taste.

Both recipes are courtesy of Ceiba del Mar, an affordable resort with one of the best beaches in Puerto Morelos.